Marketing Rants + Critiques

Smirnoff has launched a new advertising campaign to promote an upcoming event in Las Vegas — “The People’s Challenge” — which will put Smirnoff up against the world’s leading vodka manufacturers.

In the television commercial, metal workers are seen dropping trophies into a tub of molten metal as a narrator insinuates the fact that trophies don’t mean everything and, basically, the people should choose. Hence, The People’s Challenge.

Surprisingly, there is no mention of The People’s Challenge on the home page of Smirnoff’s website, though there is a snippet of information on an interior page, which simply appears as text on a white background. It says: “The experts say we taste the best but, on August 12th, we want you to compare us against other vodkas and choose for your yourself.”

I’m surprised to see an advertising campaign launch, including a television commercial, but no mention of the event anywhere on the net. When searching for – “The People’s Challenge” Smirnoff – the only thing that appears is Smirnoff’s website as can be seen in the below photo (until I post this article that is.. muahahahaahah).

Moral of the story: Smirnoff needs to jump on the social media bandwagon and get some sort of content on the web. Spending big bucks on an ad campaign plus the cost of the event in Las Vegas, then failing to market online is a big no no. More importantly, the commercial says visit Smirnoff.com, but there is no mention of The People’s Challenge on the website. A second big no no.

Smirnoff, I love you, but I think you need some help in the social media world. Marketing alcoholic products online is not ideal, but engaging past and current customers via online channels is a different ball game.

Everyone keep your eyes peeled for The People’s Challenge and I’ll be sure to post more information as it appears.

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